Gov. Nixon cuts ribbon celebrating the completion of the KCP&L landfill-to-electricity project
Gov. Nixon,St. Joseph city officials and officials with KCP&L celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Thursday marking the completion of a renewable energy project at the City of St. Joseph landfill. The project will turn landfill gas into renewable energy. KCP&L received a $450,000 Energize Missouri renewable energy biogas grant to assist in the implementation of a landfill-gas-to-electricity project at the landfill. The city will operate and maintain the methane gas collection system. The plant will convert the captured gas into enough electricity to power nearly 1,000 homes annually. The plant is KCP&L’s first landfill gas generation facility.
“Using Missouri-based renewable resources to generate heat and electricity creates jobs, boosts local economies, and bolsters our energy security by reducing our dependence on foreign sources of fuel,” Gov. Nixon said. “Companies like KCP&L are enhancing their portfolio of renewable electricity generation, and it is great to see this project completed.” The landfill gas-to-energy project consists of 47 new wells that condense and collect the landfill gas. A 1.6-megawatt reciprocating engine/generator converts the gas into electricity, which is then distributed throughout KCP&L’s electric grid “This project has expanded the current collection system, and is yet another way this regional landfill is protecting the environment through its many environmental protection programs,” St. Joseph City Manager J. Bruce Woody said.
Funding for the Energize Missouri Renewable Energy Biogas Grants were funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s State Energy Program and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. These grants support agricultural and industrial projects that use anaerobic digestion-to-energy systems and landfill biogas-to-energy projects to produce biopower, bioheat or other forms of bioenergy. The program is administered through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
